Premier League Prize Money Per Position: How the Payments Work

Premier League prize money per position is the payment a club earns for where it finishes in the table. Using 2024/25 as a benchmark, each place was worth roughly £2.7 million more than the one below, with champions Liverpool receiving £53.1 million in position-based payments. But that wasn’t their full Premier League payout.

Liverpool’s total reached £174.9 million once other central payments were included. The money for finishing in a position is only one part of what a club receives.

What does Premier League prize money actually mean?

People often use “prize money” to describe two different things: the reward for a club’s final position and its entire payment from the Premier League. The full distribution includes equal shares, position-based rewards and television-related payments.

The position-based rewards are called merit payments. They combine domestic and international broadcast merit distributions, with clubs receiving more the higher they finish.

So, if someone says Liverpool earned £174.9 million for winning the 2024/25 league, the wording needs care. Liverpool received that total as champions, but only £53.1 million was tied directly to their finishing position.

Premier League prize money per position

The table below shows the 2024/25 merit payments, combining domestic and international distributions. These are position-based payments, not each club’s total earnings, and they shouldn’t be treated as a fixed tariff for every season.

Final position	Merit payment, 2024/25
1st	£53.1 million
2nd	£50.4 million
3rd	£47.7 million
4th	£45.0 million
5th	£42.4 million
6th	£39.8 million
7th	£37.1 million
8th	£34.5 million
9th	£31.9 million
10th	£29.1 million
11th	£26.5 million
12th	£23.8 million
13th	£21.2 million
14th	£18.6 million
15th	£15.9 million
16th	£13.3 million
17th	£10.7 million
18th	£7.9 million
19th	£5.3 million
20th	£2.6 million

The pattern is straightforward: moving up means a larger merit payment. Liverpool earned £53.1 million as champions, runners-up Arsenal received £50.4 million, and bottom-placed Southampton received £2.6 million.

How much is one extra place worth?

About £2.6 million to £2.7 million from the 2024/25 figures. It isn’t an exact, identical increase between every pair of positions; the published table above has small variations.

For instance, fourth place paid £45 million, while fifth paid £42.4 million. Tenth paid £29.1 million, compared with £26.5 million for eleventh. Both gaps were £2.6 million.

That helps explain the financial value of climbing the table even away from the title race. The merit-payment system rewards each improvement in final position, not just finishing first or near the top.

But don’t carry one season’s figure forward as a guaranteed amount. Football365 puts the gap at around £2.8 million per place in 2023/24, compared with roughly £2.7 million in 2024/25.

What else goes into a club’s payout?

To understand the full amount, think of three broad parts: an equal share, merit payments and facility fees. The last two vary between clubs.

The equal share

All 20 clubs received around £96.9 million each in equal-share distributions for 2024/25. That combined money from domestic broadcasting, international broadcasting and central commercial revenue.

This is why finishing bottom didn’t mean receiving only a few million pounds. Southampton’s merit payment was £2.6 million, but their total Premier League distribution reached £109.2 million.

Facility fees

Facility fees are payments linked to how often a club’s matches are selected for live television in the UK. They aren’t distributed equally, and they don’t depend solely on league position.

In 2024/25, Liverpool had 30 matches televised in the UK and received £24.9 million in facility fees. Ipswich Town had 10 televised matches and received £8.9 million.

If you’re watching from Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa, the distinction matters: these fees relate to UK television selections, not simply whether you can watch the match in your country.

Can a lower-placed club earn more overall?

Yes. A higher finish brings a higher merit payment, but it doesn’t guarantee a higher total distribution. Differences in facility fees can change the order.

Manchester United offer a clear example. They finished 15th in 2024/25 but received £136.2 million overall, more than each of the four clubs immediately above them. Their greater number of live UK television selections helped explain the difference.

Club	2024/25 position	Total Premier League payment
Fulham	11th	£135.5 million
Crystal Palace	12th	£136.1 million
Everton	13th	£131.8 million
West Ham United	14th	£130.9 million
Manchester United	15th	£136.2 million

Those totals show why a league table and a payment table don’t always follow the same order. United’s larger total didn’t mean 15th place carried a better merit reward than 11th.

Common questions about Premier League payments

How much do the champions receive?

There isn’t one permanent amount. For the 2024/25 season, Liverpool received £53.1 million in merit payments and £174.9 million in total Premier League payments. Always distinguish between those two figures.

Does the bottom club still receive money?

Yes. Southampton received £109.2 million overall after finishing bottom in 2024/25. Their £2.6 million merit payment was only a small part of that total.

Do all clubs get the same television money?

Not overall. There are equal-share broadcasting payments, but merit distributions and facility fees vary. So two clubs can receive the same fixed share and still finish with different totals.

Will these amounts stay the same?

Don’t assume so. Payments can vary between seasons, and 2025/26 marked the start of a new four-year domestic television deal worth £6.7 billion. The 2024/25 table is a historical benchmark, not a promise of future payouts.

When you’re comparing your club’s earnings with a rival’s, the useful question is simple; are you comparing merit payments or total Premier League payments? That distinction explains how a lower finish can still come with a bigger overall cheque.